Baseball's All Star Game beckons, time for a review of the Yankees '09 performance. The season started with a stumble. Injury issues knocked out Nady, pushed Wang to a pratfall and rendered the M.V.P. M.I.A. for 28 games. Reality didn't dent the distorted expectations brought by the gaudy purchase of three marquee names. The mission for second year skipper, Joe Girardi, was clear--win or else.
A two-headed question mark in center field, a wobbly bullpen bridge, an '08 flop in right and a rickety roster were on Joe's plate. For dessert, the catching crew pulled up lame and were replaced by a .190 hitting, Double-A rookie and a Red Sox reject.
Girardi, somehow managed this mangled mix and made it work. A .600 winning percentage had the Yanks in a first place tie entering last night's contest. How did that happen?
- Competition spurred combined center field production to: .289/8 HR/ 40 RBI/15 SB. A question mark morphed to an exclamation point.
- The bullpen bridge collapsed so the manager re-invented one on-the-fly. Former starters Coke, Aceves and Hughes bring long awaited relief.
- A veteran, power-laden lineup consistently puts crooked numbers on the board. Massaging egos while dishing out playing time is not an easy job. Girardi has the players trust.
The bottom line is the '09 Yankees are optimizing production. A quality manager puts his players in a position to succeed. Mission accomplished.
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